If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You will be required to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Been trying to decide between the LXT202 Makita kit with drill and little impact ($330) or the 14.4V kit which is only available in Canada for $350 and includes the little light. Like the smaller size of the 14.4...especially since I already have a monsterous 24V Ridgid kit. However, I'm having a hard time coming to terms with paying more for the 14.4V....and having to drive over the border to get it. Wonder when or if they will sell it in the U.S.?????

I heard they were going to announce the 14.4v products for the US at the start of January so they will probably be available soon after that.

Comment

Very interesting comparison, Velosapien. That seems to sound about inline with DeWalt's power rating comparison article. The BHP451 is more or less on the lower end of the 18V NiCad drill pack in terms of power. The 925 is head and shoulders above everything else.

but yeah, that's the beauty of the lithium batteries is that the power fade is much less noticeable. There's still a little bit of fade, but the voltage droop on lithium is far less noticeable than nicad and barely significant, I've found.

Since I recently got the makita drill I thought I'd test it out against the Dewalt 925 and get my first impressions. I actually wasn't interested in the drill, just the other tools but its cheaper to buy the kit than buy them individually so... Anyway, at least as far as hammer drill performance there's no question that with the Makita unit, the measurements seem spot on. Powerwise the BHP451 hardly felt any different than the DC988. I had to drill 5/16" holes into reinforced concrete. Did half and half with each drill. The DC925 pretty clearly dominated the BHP451. Not only was it faster but it felt like it required less effort. The catch was that as soon as the Dewalts performance started dropping off due to NiCD battery drain the Makita started to keep up and stay up and eventually outdo it. In the long run the Makita will outperform the DC925 unless you are constantly swapping fresh batteries. This is really not a flaw of the Dewalt drill itself, just a limitation of the battery technology. If they offered retrofitable Lithium-Ion batteries that thing would be unstoppable. Another interesting thing also is while the Makita unit is light, its all due to the battery. The drill itself is not only a little heavier, but also taller and wider than the DC925. It is shorter though. It also came with a lower grade Jacobs 500 chuck instead of the better 700 series which Dewalt used on the DC988, and according to jacobs is the recommended model for hammer drills. The battery life on the Makita tools was nothing short of remarkable. I put them into the charger out of habit usually around the same time I found the NiCD tools to start feeling the first noticeable drop in performance only to find out they were usually still at over 80%. The circular saw feels average, as most 18v saws pretty gutless. Comparable if not maybe a little less powerfull than the dewalt 18v circular. Once again though, remarkable battery performance. Did maybe 25-30combined cross cuts and rip cuts of treated 2X8 and 1 X12. Battery was topped off in about 10 minutes when done on the standard charger.

Comment

If DeWalt is smart they will make 18 Volt Li-Ion batteries and a new super charger that can charge up almost all of their different batteries and with enough microprocessor so it knows just which battery you are charging. It will be multi bay charger too. I really think all of us need to sit back and wait this out for a year or two. We are only beginning to see where all of this is headed. With all the big tool companies at war with each other it's going to be wild to see who comes along with what.

I'm waiting and hoping to see Makita do some super power Li-Ion batteries and tools. What I really want to see is someone use their engineering skills and do a super cordless Sliding Compound Miter Saw and who better than Makita to take their nice corded model and work it over. Think of what it would be like if there were several new super Li-Ion battery packs in the base of it. They best be the same battery packs used in a line of their cordless tools.

All the tool companies best get off the ground with multi bay super chargers with the ability to charge up several different batteries in any combination. Such may well require that new batteries have chips inside them to tell the charger needed info. Anymore having to have too many different batteries and chargers must come to an end. One super charger and they really need to figure out how to work out their lines so there would be only 2 batteries. A big beefy super powerful one and a nice lighter weight one for their smaller cordless tools. I'm thinking of say 18 and 36 Volt Li-Ion batteries. Then based on the tool it would take (1) 18 Volt or (1) 36 Volt or several 36 Volt batteries for the bid benchtop type tools. I can see all kinds of wild new tools in the works. Besides the cordless miter saw, a super cordless portable band saw that really cuts. A super recip that really does the work of corded. A nice big spade handle drill with serious power. Big deal if it has 10 pounds of batteries. Those big drills are heavy in the corded versions. Then how about a nice little shop vac that's cordless and has some real suction? Yes it can be done. The issue is how much are customers willing to pay for all the R & D needed to produce such tools. Several people have asked about a cordless hedge trimmer. Well, DeWalt (Black & Decker) already has junky ones but it the DeWalt team took over they could produce a pretty good one using the 36 Volt Li-Ion battery. So could Makita. They make a little baby cordless chain saw and several not bad corded ones. Now they (both companies) need to work on more serious cordless models. I think there is a demand for such by true commercial users. Time will tell, I guess.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL

Comment

If DeWalt is smart they will make 18 Volt Li-Ion batteries and a new super charger that can charge up almost all of their different batteries and with enough microprocessor so it knows just which battery you are charging.......

True for every cordless manufacturer. They could make a fortune in battery and charger sales if they'd just sell a Lithium battery upgrade package for all their existing tools. I bet they could still make a handsome profit if they charged $200 dollars for a charger and a pair of batteries.

P.S. Ridgid shows an 18V Lithium Ion battery on their MaxSelect tool display at my local HD. Wonder when we'll see that coming and if it will charge in the 24V charger or if a new charger will be necessary. For that matter, I wonder if it will fit in the older 18V tools....or require a little creative plastic removal.

Comment

I had to return my 24v LI drill today, I must say the thing is a POS. It worked well for light an medium duty usage, and the batterys did last longer than the 18v. But as soon as you try to do some heavy duty work, the batterys just shut down, even if they still have 99% of there charge, and they don't work agian till you put them back on the charger ( I can't tell you how frustrating this is on the job site, when your not close to the charger). Even my Max select recip saw made the batterys shut down. And when I tried to use them when it is -10 deg c outside they were even worse for shutting down.

Maybe in 6 months they will have the battery problem fixed, but for now I'll keep using my 18v X2 drill.

Comment

I had to return my 24v LI drill today, I must say the thing is a POS. It worked well for light an medium duty usage, and the batterys did last longer than the 18v. But as soon as you try to do some heavy duty work, the batterys just shut down, even if they still have 99% of there charge, and they don't work agian till you put them back on the charger ( I can't tell you how frustrating this is on the job site, when your not close to the charger). Even my Max select recip saw made the batterys shut down. And when I tried to use them when it is -10 deg c outside they were even worse for shutting down.

Maybe in 6 months they will have the battery problem fixed, but for now I'll keep using my 18v X2 drill.

There certainly has been a fair bit of complaining about the batteries but just out of curiosity, how cold was it when you tried to use the battery? Even Li-Ion has a certain operating temperature range, and its well above 0 deg. Too cold and they simply do not work, regardless of the battery. Some batteries probably have thermal control to shut them down and protect them if they are well out of range.

I had to return my 24v LI drill today, I must say the thing is a POS. It worked well for light an medium duty usage, and the batterys did last longer than the 18v. But as soon as you try to do some heavy duty work, the batterys just shut down, even if they still have 99% of there charge, and they don't work agian till you put them back on the charger ( I can't tell you how frustrating this is on the job site, when your not close to the charger). Even my Max select recip saw made the batterys shut down. And when I tried to use them when it is -10 deg c outside they were even worse for shutting down.

Maybe in 6 months they will have the battery problem fixed, but for now I'll keep using my 18v X2 drill.

I had that happen with the drill once...when I was switching trans gears and locked the drill up. Instant shutdown. Battery disabled till put back in charger. Great to have battery overload protection but not when it is so sensitive it will go off under normal loads.

As you suggest, it is a battery issue. The smart protection logic is built into the batteries. The good news is Ridgid could release new batteries with a more robust logic. They should be replaced free under their lifetime service. However, I can see why you'd return it now. The tools have to work NOW...not 6 or 8 months from now.